Dislocations-induced precipitates and their effect on mechanical properties of Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy

Optical microscope(OM),scanning electron microscope(SEM),transmission electron microscope(TEM)and tensile machine were used to characterize the microstructures and mechanical properties of as-forged and aged Mg-9.5Gd-3.8Y-0.6Zr alloys.The results show that a novel kind of dislocation arrays,comprising parallel arranged dislocations,were obtained in the forged alloy.The arrays tend to extend parallel and are heterogeneously distributed with adjacent distances varying from 0.3μm to 1.4μm.After aging the alloy at 265°C,a large number of preferential-oriented phases were precipitated on the dislocation arrays,forming a structure of"precipitation chains"(PCs),which results in simultaneous increments of strength and ductility.

Some experimental schemes to identify quantum spin liquids

Despite the apparent ubiquity and variety of quantum spin liquids in theory,experimental confirmation of spin liquids remains to be a huge challenge.Motivated by the recent surge of evidences for spin liquids in a series of candidate materials,we highlight the experimental schemes,involving the thermal Hall transport and spectrum measurements,that can result in smoking-gun signatures of spin liquids beyond the usual ones.For clarity,we investigate the square lattice spin liquids and theoretically predict the possible phenomena that may emerge in the corresponding spin liquids candidates.The mechanisms for these signatures can be traced back to either the intrinsic characters of spin liquids or the external field-driven behaviors.Our conclusion does not depend on the geometry of lattices and can broadly apply to other relevant spin liquids.

An improved effective liquid drop model for cluster radioactivity

The effective liquid drop model(ELDM)is improved by introducing an accurate nuclear charge radius formula and an analytic expression for assaulting frequency.Within the improved effective liquid drop model(IMELDM),the experimental cluster radioactivity half-lives of the trans-lead region are calculated.It is shown that the accuracy of the IMELDM is improved compared with that of the ELDM.At last,the cluster radioactivity half-lives that are experimentally unavailable for the trans-lead nuclei are predicted by the IMELDM.These predictions may be useful for searching for new candidates for cluster radioactivity in future experiments.

Systematic study of global optical model potentials in(d,p)transfer reactions

In the T-matrix form of the transfer reaction,the optical model potentials(OMPs)are used to compute the scattering wave function and transition operator.For most cases,the elastic scattering cross sections,normally used to generate the OMPs,are not directly given in the same experiment.Then,the global OMPs,which fit the experimental data over a broad mass and energy range,are widely used in the theoretical calculations.Different sets of global OMPs with different parameter sets can reproduce the scattering cross section equally well within the uncertainty.Here,we apply different global OMPs to calculate the(differential)cross sections of(d,p)transfer reactions on the target nuclei^(12)C,^(48)Ca,^(124)Sn,and^(208)Pb at different energies.The results demonstrate that the effects of deuteron and nucleon global OMPs on transfer(differential)cross sections vary with energy and target mass.Furthermore,the influences of the spin-orbit coupling term of deuteron and nucleon global OMPs on the transfer cross sections are not negligible.

Two-proton radioactivity of exotic nuclei beyond proton drip-line

To search for new candidates of the true and simultaneous two-proton(2 p)radioactivity,the 2 p decay energies(Q2 p)are extracted by the Weizs?cker–Skyrme-4(WS4)model,the finite-range droplet model(FRDM),the Koura–Tachibana–Uno–Yamada(KTUY)model and the Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov mean-field model with the BSk29 Skyrme interaction(HFB29).Then,the 2 p radioactivity half-lives are calculated within the generalized liquid drop model by inputting the four types of Q2 pvalues.By the energy and half-life constraints,it is found that the probable 2 p decay candidates are the nuclei beyond the proton-drip line in the region of Z≤50 based on the WS4 and KTUY mass models.For the FRDM mass model,the probable 2 p decay candidates are found in the region of Z≤44.However,the 2p-decaying candidates are predicted in the region of Z≤58 by the HFB29 mass model.It means that the probable 2 p decay candidates of Z>50 are only predicted by the HFB29 mass model.Finally,the competition between the true 2p radioactivity andα-decay for the nuclei above the N=Z=50 shell closures is discussed.It is shown that~(101)Te,~(111)Ba and~(114)Ce prefer to 2p radioactivity and the dominant decay mode of~(107)Xe and~(116)Ce isα-decay.

Field-tuned quantum effects in a triangular-lattice Ising magnet

We report thermodynamic and neutron scattering measurements of the triangular-lattice quantum Ising magnet TmMgGaO_(4)in longitudinal magnetic fields.Our experiments reveal a quasi-plateau state induced by quantum fluctuations.This state exhibits an unconventional non-monotonic field and temperature dependence of the magnetic order and excitation gap.In the high field regime where the quantum fluctuations are largely suppressed,we observed a disordered state with coherent magnon-like excitations despite the suppression of the spin excitation intensity.Through detailed semi-classical calculations,we are able to understand these behaviors quantitatively from the subtle competition between quantum fluctuations and frustrated Ising interactions.